BEL AIR, Md. — The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report into last month's deadly home explosion in Bel Air.
Leading up to the August 11th explosion, there was some question whether the odor of gas was detected near the house on Arthurs Woods Drive.
According to NTSB, the night before the explosion a neighbor reported smelling a strong gas odor about 0.2 miles from the home. This prompted a response from BGE, who inspected the area for leaks, but they didn't find one.
Meanwhile another BGE service technician also happened to be at the home that night investigating an electrical power outage.
While they ended up referring the problem to a contractor, the technician did tell dispatch about an odor of gas coming from outside the home.
Two BGE contractors returned to the home the morning of the explosion to follow-up on the technician's referral and make proper repairs.
At 6:48am the home exploded, killing the owner Ray Corkran Jr., 73, and one of the BGE contractors, Jose Rodriguez-Alvarado, 35.
The second contractor escaped with minor injuries. During an interview with investigators the surviving contractor reported smelling gas in front of the home around 6:05am.
Gas service was fed into the home via a plastic main measuring one and a quarter inch in diameter, and a half-inch plastic natural gas service line that were installed in 2006 and 2007. Electric was supplied by a set of three cables installed in a trench with the gas pipe. NTSB investigators later determined the gas service lines were situated three to 15 inches apart.
At the time of the explosion, gas pressure tested about 89 pounds per square inch gauge, which is below the maximum allowable operating pressure.
Following the explosion BGE recovered the damaged service line, one of which had a hole on the bottom.
MORE: Crews tear down neighboring home days after Bel Air house explosion
NTSB says it's continuing to investigate and examine evidence from the scene.
Part of the remaining investigation will focus on "BGE’s construction practices, its process for recording and responding to odor complaints, and its pipeline safety management system, as well as other causal factors."
BGE responded to the NTSB report with this statement.
"Independent of any external investigation, BGE remains committed to the integrity of our system. Our processes and procedures are designed to address a range of situations. Nevertheless, we recognize the importance of continuous improvement and vigilance."
BGE listed a few steps they've already taken since the incident which they say will enhance safety and reliability.
- Implemented refresher trainings reemphasizing proactive safety measures and gas and electric emergency processes.
- Reinforced our facility procedures with our craft employees and enhanced our process to ensure employees responding to issues at these locations can maintain the safety of the gas and electric systems.
- Increased oversight of emergency customer calls to the company.
